Americans Love To Kill People

Americans Love To Kill People, With The Death Penalty,
At War And With Hate Speech

By Mary Hamer

07 January, 2013
Countercurrents.org

“Political language … is designed to make lies sound truthful & murder respectable”

George Orwell. (1)

*PURPOSE: The purpose of this paper is: To demonstrate how Americans love to Kill people with the Death Penalty, at War & with Hate speech. People America “perceives” as: Bad, inferior, wrong & imperfect are categorized as evil, which justifies a Lynch-Mob, Gang-warfare & Hatred campaign. People America perceives as a criminal are subjected to a Humanocide campaign to destroy target victims. (2) Like a pack of hyenas & vultures, Americans stalk, circle around & attack a target victim Americans perceive as evil; Then Americans go for the jugular vein with a pre-meditated intent to kill. What are the Antidotes for America ‘s Kill ethic?: Love & Mercy.

“Evidence shows that innocent people have been sentenced to death and that serious legal errors infect the administration of capital punishment. ” “ In response to growing concerns about (Wrongful convictions for the Death Penalty), many states have suspended executions or experienced a decline in the use of capital punishment, but most SOUTHERN STATES have continued to condemn and execute large numbers of people who disproportionately are poor and racial minorities. (3) Southern states including Texas , Florida & Alabama execute relatively large numbers of people including the poor & racial minorities; There are many reasons for this Southern Kill ethic: #1. The Historical Southern Lynch-mob ethic, #2. God & Bible-ordained & Christian sanctioned homicide, #3. Poor quality elected state judges compared to more competent appointed federal judges who write more thoughtful & scholarly decisions, #4. Judges under threats of losing votes & fearful of losing elections due to 3rd party billionaires such as the Koch brothers & their powerful political action committee Americans for Prosperity & #5. Elected judges who override a jury’s verdict. (4)

*”The execution of Troy Davis in the US state of Georgia has been condemned by Amnesty International. Laura Moye said that she was ‘shocked and outraged’ at the ‘atrocity’, and believes the anti-death penalty movement will be galvanized by the death.” (5)

*”Laura Moye, Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) death penalty abolition campaign director, issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision today to reject Troy Davis’ appeal of the federal district court’s ruling that Davis did not prove his innocence:

‘Amnesty International is extremely disappointed that the Supreme Court rejected Troy Davis’ appeal. It appears that the justice system is comfortable allowing someone to be executed when there are lingering doubts about guilt in the case. No objective person could confidently determine that Davis is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt from the evidence available now in his case. That leaves an ominous cloud hanging over an irreversible sentence such as the death penalty.”

“Because there was no physical evidence linking Davis to the murder, nor was there physical evidence exonerating him, the case rested on a group of witnesses whose credibility was readily accepted for conviction, but so easily rejected in the appeals process.”(6)

II. HIROSHIMA & NAGASAKI : Killing to Save Lives.

*Regarding the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki : “Several high-ranking U.S. military commanders, including Eisenhower & MacArthur … felt that there was no military justification for the bombings. In a 1946 report, the United States Strategic Bombing Survey noted that Japan would in all probability have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped”. (7)

*The Bomb that Saved Lives: The U.S. military stated that the bombing of Hiroshima & Nagasaki would “Save Lives”. The truth is that these bombs that “Saved lives” Acutely killed 90,000 -166,000 Japanese people in Hiroshima & 60,000 – 80,000 people in Nagasaki , including civilians. (8)

*Arguments Against Hiroshima & Nagasaki : A review of arguments against the Hiroshima & Nagasaki atomic bombings includes: #1. Japan was ready to surrender. #2. Hiroshima & Nagasaki were Fundamentally Immoral. #3. The Bombings were War Crimes. #4. The Bombings were State Terrorism. #5. Hiroshima & Nagasaki were Militarily Unnecessary. #6. The Nagasaki Bombing was Especially Unnecessary. #7. Racism against the Japanese. #8. Dehumanization. #9.Genocide. #10. Ego-based behavior to impress Russia . #11. The Violation of Just War principles. #12. The Fraud of the Bombs Save Lives argument. (9)

III. The SHOCK & AWE Campaign of the IRAQ WAR in 2003.

*Definition: Shock & Awe is “Technically known as rapid dominance” & it is “A military doctrine based on the use of overwhelming power … & spectacular displays of force … (to) destroy (the enemy’s) will to fight”.

*Terrorism Charge: “According to The Guardian correspondent Brian Whitaker in 2003: ‘To some in the Arab & Muslim countries, Shock & Awe is terrorism by another name’” “Anti-war protesters in 2003 … claimed that ‘The shock & awe pummeling of Baghdad (by the U.S. & it’s coalition) (was) a kind of terrorism’”.

*Civilian Deaths: The Iraq Body Count “Attribute(s) approximately 6,600 civilian deaths to the actions of U.S.-led forces during the ‘Invasion phase’, including the shock-&-awe bombing campaign on Baghdad ”.

*Question: What is so “Awe”-some about war, bombs, killing including civilian deaths & destroying an enemy’s will to fight? — Where Awe is defined as “An overwhelming feeling of wonder or admiration” & “A feeling of profound respect for someone or something”. (10)

IV. CELEBRATING KILLING of HUMAN BEINGS.

*In 2011, Americans celebrated the killing of Osama bin Laden. I, Mary Hamer will Not: Celebrate, clap, cheer, clink a glass of champagne, drink beer, dance in the streets, fire a gun into the air, gloat, high five, be jubilant, shout with glee, smoke a cigar, swagger with pride, toast a drink, wave a flag, yell out with delight, yell out chest-thumping chants or show any other act of disrespect regarding the Killing of another human being, including an enemy such as Osama bin Laden. (11)

V. KILLING the HUMAN SPIRIT. e.g. HATE SPEECH & ABU GHRAIB.

* HATE Speech : Fact: People who kill humans are convicted of homicide & they spend their lives in prisons; Question: Why is it that people who kill the human spirit with violent language such as Defamation, Name calling & Hate speech — are not convicted of spiritual homicide, but rather walk the streets freely, committing undocumented crimes? (12)

*EVIL: One reason Americans hate & are violent to others is the perception of: Evil. As Cole states in his book The Myth of Evil: “The discourse of evil is so dangerous that we must try to do without it.” Cole discusses the “Condemnation of those described as evil”. Cole explains: “Freud provided an important insight that we construct monsters … They represent our fears … or they represent our own monstrosity, our capacity for destructive evil intent.” Evil obstructs our understanding, it blocks our way, it is a failure to understand. “In the face of events like the Holocaust, we have to remember that one major factor in bringing it about was (the) discourse of evil”. Rather than call someone “Evil”, it is important as Cole states: “To understand their history, their motivation, (&) their psychology”. (14) Comments: The “Monsters & Evil” that people create – are the monsters & evil that are within the offenders themselves – irrational fears that the perpetrators project onto the targeted victim. In other words Monsters & Evil are in the eyes of the beholder. May we all be aware that Monsters & Evil live in the cages of our own minds – & not in the target victims. (15)

*e.g. AXIS of EVIL : “ Axis of Evil is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002, and often repeated throughout his presidency , describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction . Iran , Iraq and North Korea were portrayed by George W. Bush during the State of the Union as possessing nuclear weapons . The Axis of Evil was used to pinpoint these common enemies of the United States and (to galvanize the country for) the war on terror . The term has stirred controversy, as it turned out Iraq never actually possessed any weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, ‘the Bush administration was undeterred by the paucity of evidence and the failure to find a nuclear weapons program or any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and remained relentlessly focused on the nuclear weapons ambitions of North Korea and Iran, all the while ignoring or minimizing diplomatic efforts that are not hegemonic and confrontational.’” (16)

VII. *KILLING is SEXY & MACHO:

*The PSYCHOLOGY of KILLING: “When most people talk about killing, they are like virgins talking about sex. (17)

*To REVEL in KILLING: “Elizabeth Bumiller of The New York Times put it, the soldiers ‘revel in their kill.’ ‘Look at those dead b******,’ one pilot says. ‘Nice,’ the other replies. … The exchange reminds me of a Times story from March 2003, during the U.S. invasion of Baghdad. The reporter quotes Sgt. Eric Schrumpf, a Marine sharpshooter, saying, ‘We had a great day. We killed a lot of people.’ Noting that his troop killed an Iraqi woman standing near a militant, Schrumpf adds, ‘I’m sorry, but the chick was in the way.’ The reluctance of ordinary men to kill can be overcome by intensified training, direct commands from officers, long-range weapons and propaganda that glorifies the soldier’s cause and dehumanizes the enemy. ‘With the proper conditioning and the proper circumstances, it appears that almost anyone can and will kill,’ Grossman writes. ‘Many soldiers who kill enemies in battle are initially exhilarated’, Grossman says, but later they often feel profound revulsion and remorse, which may transmute into post-traumatic stress disorder and other ailments. Indeed, Grossman believes that the troubles experienced by many combat veterans are evidence of a ‘powerful, innate human resistance toward killing one’s own species.’
‘In other words, the Schrumpf effect is usually a product less of nature than of nurture’” (training to become an enthusiastic killer). (18)

*LOVE: “You can trace all violence to the lack of or having poor relationships, either in childhood or in romantic relationships. I think all the people in the world who commit violent crimes or who are engaged in terrorism at some point experienced a deep lack of love.” (19)

ISLAMIC MERCY & COMPASSION/RAHMAH: Mercy plays an important role in the Islamic religion. “When God says in the Quran, ‘My mercy embraces everything’ (7:156), this means that God has mercy on the entire universe.” (20) Specifically, “The more weak & poor a human being is, the more we are required to show mercy to him & be gentle with him.” (21) As so beautifully said by Dr. Chittick & the Islamic religion: “The goal of love is to overcome separation, to escape from the darkness and (the) pain that define our existential plight, and to enter into the light. … It is to take advantage of the universal mercy that embraces everything”. (22) May Americans overcome the separation, escape the darkness & enter the light to be merciful to & respect others . (23)

18. www.scientific american .com/blog/post.cfm?id=why…get… kill … Why soldiers get a kick out of killing. By John Horgan | Apr 23, 2010. John Horgan, a former Scientific American staff writer, directs the Center for Science Writings at Stevens Institute of Technology . Referencing: Grossman’s 1995 book On Killing .